The Community Youth Development Program

By GetParentingTips.com staff
Watch Time 5 minutes

Eighth grader Riannah Acosta said she never imagined being someone who would take on a raging river. “I got to kayak,” she said. “I’m scared of getting in water, so for me, it was a new experience.”

Kayaking is just one of the ways the Community Youth Development program has gotten Riannah out of her comfort zone and given her confidence in meeting new challenges. “They’ve given me a lot of opportunities to go places I really don’t go,” she said.

Riannah’s older sister, Gracie, also joined the program and found a love for volunteering. “We actually went and volunteered and did stuff within the community,” Gracie said.

Supporting Community-Based Organizations

The Community Youth Development program provides support to community-based organizations that serve youth ages 6 to 17 to promote positive youth development and build healthy communities for youth to grow and be successful. The program provides youth with:

• Leadership skills.
• Academic support.
• Physical activities to help keep them active.
• Mentoring.

“Our main focus is to try to keep youth delinquency down, so we try to keep kids busy and engaged and overcoming barriers by any means necessary,” said Marie Hines, director of the Community Youth Development program.

The program has a Community Coalition group that includes different community organizations that meet quarterly to share student challenges. Together, they troubleshoot problems and come up with solutions. Marie said she finds experts in the community who can offer their time and share their knowledge.

“For example, they gave our students finance classes, or during November, we did a class on how to cope with grief because the holidays are hard for a lot of people,” Marie said. “We are all kind of in it together, trying to help our kiddos.”

The Power of Student Leadership

Another program under Community Youth Development is the Youth Advisory Council, which Marie refers to as the program’s student council. It provides opportunities for teens to be more active in their communities and helps develop their leadership skills. Marie said she met the Acostas through the council.

“We do a lot of community service, we do a lot of service-learning projects where we give back to the community, and we teach students how to be leaders.”

Marie remembers Riannah being afraid to speak in public the first time she came to the program. With some encouragement from her grandmother and Marie’s help, Riannah began acting as a host during events with students. Soon, Riannah was handing out gift bags to guests and introducing guests.

“Seeing the other kids her age do it, she just kind of opened up,” Marie said. “And that’s what I try to do is to empower all the kids.”

One of the most popular components of the program is the monthly Family Engagement meeting. Many of these meetings involve parents and kids learning new skills together, such as cooking or creating budgets.

“In a way, we’re forcing them together where they’re learning from each other, and they’re kind of learning things that maybe neither one of them knew,” Marie said. “We’ve learned that the families do love being able to do these things with their kids that they might not have thought of doing elsewhere.”

Riannah and Gracie’s grandmother, Michael Ann, is grateful for the support and encouragement the program has given the girls.

“This has been a great program for me and my family, and I think it’s a blessing,” she said. “The program can make a big difference in people’s lives. One slogan of theirs is, ‘No kid left behind.’ And that is so true, because when they're in the program, it gives them a bond. It surrounds them with support and love. Not only the child, but the parent.”

Young Kids, Grown-Up Challenges

Marie is inspired by the students she works with in the program.

“When I go to these schools, these kids give me life,” she said. “Each year we do a service learning project, and they vote on what it will be. These kids are dealing with real-life stuff.”

Michael Ann said she sees how the program offers children a different path.

“Not every kid is the same,” she said. “One kid might need this; one kid might need that. But it gives them the support. They don’t just give you a phone number.”

Finding Programs Near You

The Community Youth Development program is currently available in these counties: Bell, Bexar, Cameron, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Lubbock, McLennan, Nueces, Potter, Tarrant, Taylor, Travis, Webb, and Willacy.

To qualify for this child and family service, families must live in the specified service delivery area county or combined service area. Because the program is offered through local community partners, availability, eligibility, and resources vary by county. Visit the Find Local Support page to find programs in your area.